Blue Box Goes Postal
by ria1221
Summary: On Rachel's birthday, Jordan decides to clean her room for her. Rachel is also the one stuck with keeping the Blue Box safe. But when Jordan cleans, she REALLY cleans...
1. Poopy Scooper

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Animorphs, Rachel, Marco, Ax, Tobias, Cassie, or Jake or any of the Chee. I do not own ANY of this except the actual story (so it's not plagiarism). 

::Thought::

"Speech"

*Emphasis*

Thought-speak

§Foreign§

My name is Rachel Anderson.

Or it could be Rachel Broad.

Or maybe Rachel Dorny.

Possibly even Rachel Hillgrove. Pick one. Not one of them is my real last name. Well… maybe one of them is, but you just can't be sure. How do you know that Rachel is even my real _first_ name? Well anyways, I'm being chased, which is why I can't give you my last name. It all started when…. Oh what the heck. Let's just cut to the chase. Long story short: Earth is being attacked by a bunch of evil extraterrestrial parasites called Yeerks. The End. Want to know more about the Yeerks? Read my books. Well anyways, I can morph. Another REALLY long story short: We (me and my 4 friends; Jake, Cassie, Marco, & Tobias) met an alien (a good one) named Elfangor Sirinial Shamtul (his little brother, Aximili Essgarrouth Isthill a.k.a. Ax joined us later) who held a blue box, told me to touch it, and gave me the ability to become any animal who's DNA I… um… absorbed, I guess you could say. 

Well, Jake (our unofficial leader) doesn't like us using our morphing powers for personal reasons. But we don't always abide by that rule…

I'm gonna beat you… I'm gonna beat you! I screeched at Cassie, my best friend. We were morphed dolphins and were playing around in the ocean. Ha! Yeah Rachel. You'll beat me at this the same day that I go into Limited Too willingly and actually GET something! 

Is that a bet? I asked skeptically. 

Well I GUESS it IS!! she replied.

Oh, you are ON, sista. 

And if you lose, you hafta help me clean out the barn. 

In that case, I'll SOOO win. There is NO way I'm gonna run around smelling like crap! 

We had decided to amuse the on looking beach-freaks and jump up in the air. We were racing up towards the surface world where we could take a breather and entertain the dolphin loving… um… dolphin lovers! FWOOOOOOOOSH!! We broke the glistening and smooth (well, it wasn't smooth anymore) barrier that separated the beautiful, blue, mysterious ocean from the great big, polluted piece of crap that we live in. Dolphin's hearing isn't so great in the air, but if it was, I'm sure I'd be able to hear the clicks of cameras.

Crud. That wasn't a fair! 

Yup! Crud's the deal! 

I grumbled and muttered Let's go demorph. My dolphin's getting mad at your dolphin because your dolphin is making my dolphin scoop dookie.

~~~~~Later at Cassie's barn~~~~~

The six of us were all gathered in Cassie's barn. Marco on his usual bale of hay, but accompanied by Jake (who is my cousin), who was playing "Thumb-Wars" with the other idiot. It's not that I don't like Marco. I do… I mean, as a friend. He just really irks me sometimes… wait. Let me rephrase that. He just really irks me MOST of the time. Anyways, Ax and Tobias were having a staring contest. Not smart. See, Ax is new on this planet, and he doesn't know that birds - especially hawks- can stare unblinkingly for who-knows-how-long. And since I lost our bet, Cassie got to clean the animals while I got stuck with the shovel. ::I should NOT have to be doing this. I mean, for Pete's sake! Tomorrow is my gosh darn birthday!:: I grumbled a lot and was relieved when Jake called the meeting to order. I finally got to put down the shovel. He stood up as if he were the president about to give a speech, or a judge about to sit down.

"All rise for the honorable Judge Jake," Marco joked.

"Already risen," I retorted.

"To me, you'll always be low, my dear Xena."

"Who are you to call someone low, your royal shortness?"

"All right all right. That's enough. Now shut-up and listen." Astonished, everybody turned to see that it was not Jake, but *Cassie*. Yeah. *That* was weird. 

Blown away, Jake tried to keep up with the program.

"Uh… yeah. Well, l-let's get b-back to the… erm… important st-stuff."

Marco leaned over and whispered loudly to Ax, "Betcha anything he's gonna say to word 'Yeerks'." Jake grinned and continued.

"The _enemy_ has launched a new plan."

"I object! You did that on purpose!"

Jake ignored him.

"I don't suppose you remember the Helmacron machine that the Yeerks used to detect morphing energy and how much fun we had during that time? Well, they have come up with a new machine to do the same, according to the Chee."

What is it called? Asked Ax.

"I think it's called something like §neuron diatomic stabilizer§_."_

Ax sort of growled.

Again! Stolen technology! he cried.

I looked at him, puzzled.

"Ax. Dude, what would the Andalite's need that for?"

I did not say they stole it from the Andalites. They stole it from the Helmacrons! 

I rolled my eyes.

"Moving on!" Jake announced.

Hey, where's Cassie? Tobias asked.

Right here, came a voice. It was Cassie. She was trying out her new morph, a cobra. Marco and Ax had it, but she wanted it.

Why doesn't anybody want to try out a red tail- but Tobias cut off. He said in a whisper,

Cassie. Hurry. I want- no, *need*- you to slither into one of the stalls and demorph. Now!

Tobias? Tobias, what's the matter? Cassie asked, pleadingly. 

Just do it!

We heard some dead leaves and pine straw move.

Alright. I'm in here. Now what is going on?

All of us- me, Jake, Marco, and Ax- were silently asking the same thing.

A helicopter just landed about an eight of a mile away and some Hork-Bijar just piled out with lots of dracon beams and are headed this way. 

Why? 

"They sense your energy, Cassie. I suggest obeying Jake. "


	2. Happy Birthday, Rachel!

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Animorphs, Rachel, Marco, Ax, Tobias, Cassie, or Jake or any of the Chee. I do not own ANY of this except the actual story (so it's not plagiarism).  
  
::Thought::  
  
"Speech"  
  
Emphasis  
  
~Thought-speak~  
  
§Foreign§  
We all jumped and spun around. Before I even finished jumping, I felt coarse brown hairs sprouting from my flesh. But once I saw, the fur of the grizzly bear was sucked up like spaghetti. It was just Erek the Chee.  
"Whoa. Down, Bessie," Marco joked.  
"Shut-up, Wilbur," I retorted.  
"Did you just call me a pig?"  
"Nah, Marco. I called you a great big hunk o' muscles."  
"Thought so."  
"And did you call me a cow, you stupid, unfortunate weasel?"  
"'Nah Rachel! I called you a beautiful babe that belongs in Victoria's Secret!'" he said, imitating me.  
"How long have you had your teeth?"  
"Dunno. My whole life, I guess."  
"Well, it ain't gonna stay that way, bub!"  
  
Erek turned to Jake.  
"Do they *ever* cease?"  
"As far as I know. nope. Sure don't."  
"Why you." Marco continued, but he actually stopped the argument.  
"Wait. Erek is here. As far as I know. he's the grim reaper. What is it?"  
~Cassie! Hurry! Demorph! They are less than 20 feet away from the clearing!~ Tobias shouted. We could hear a loud (and really nasty sounding) SCHOOP! And Cassie walked out.  
~Erek! Quick. Hologram! *NOW*!!~ Screamed Tobias. To any passing person, it would look like an abandoned barn. Erek made it so that the Hork-Bijar troops wouldn't want to inspect it. But on the inside, it looked like a beautiful shimmering sphere.  
"Remember the good old days," Marco whispered, even though any outsiders couldn't hear. "When the only times we saw this kind of stuff in nightmares? And when that happened, we could just wake up and climb in bed with mo. m. with Dad." Marco choked when he tried to say "Mom." See, everybody except we, the Animorphs and the Yeerks thought that Marco's mother had drowned, and they never found her body. But we knew better than that. Marco's mother was a Human-Controller. We would say "a-person-who-has- been-infested-with-a-nasty-descusting-grotesque-slimy-gross-evil-sluggish- thing-called-a-Yeerk," but "Human-Controller" is a tad bit easier to say. In fact, Eva's Yeerk was Visser One. You know. "The boss."  
Moving on... Inside of the sphere, we heard the scariest, most awful, tormenting voice you should ever hear. Not to mention it was absolutely dripping with evil.  
Visser Three. ~Where is it? Where is the morphing energy coming from? ~ The Visser asked coldly. "Tssssssssss hessssssssssssssth tseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee," said one of the Taxxons with its disgusting native tongue. The Visser blew into rage.  
~What? What do you mean you can't locate it!? You fool! You idiot! You.~ Visser Three said a word that we didn't think Andalites or Yeerks knew.  
"We should wipe out his brain with soap! Such a dirty word." Marco whispered.  
When we heard a swish then a really gross sounding splat! and a wild flurry of hisses and movement, we made a correct guess that the Visser was in the mood for killing a Taxxon.  
~Move out, ~ Visser Three growled. A little later, I looked at my watch and panicked.  
"Oh my gosh! I'm supposed to be home in, like, 20 minutes! I have to go! Bye!" As I was leaving (awfully hurriedly), I heard several calls to me. "If I can't call you tomorrow, happy birthday, Rachel!" (Cassie) "Tomorrow is her birthday?" (Jake) "Yeah... Jake! I'm surprised at you! She's your cousin!" (Cassie) "I'll betcha anything she doesn't know my birthday." (Marco) "December 23!" (Me) I didn't get to hear his reply, because I was way too far away. But I did hear Tobias. ~Happy Birthday Rachel,~ he said privately to me. I smiled to myself and said aloud "You're invited."  
  
-Later At My House at around 8 a.m.-  
"Wake up Rachel. wake up! Happy birthday!" I opened my eyes to the two little girls named Sara and Jordan... also known as my sisters. I also opened my sense of smell to my three favorite food groups: bacon, eggs, and toast. Mom was making me breakfast!  
"Thank you girls, but I would appreciate it greatly if you got off my legs." I said, and they both did.  
When we were downstairs a couple hours later, everybody gave me their gifts. There was one from my mom. two from my dad. a little itty-bitty box from Sara. and an envelope from Marco! That was freakish. I decided to open it last. Okay. Now look through the list and see if you can figure out who is missing (Not Cassie; she gave me a top from LTD2 last week. She might as well have lost our bet!) Yeah. Jordan was missing.  
"I'm sorry Rachel," Jordan said apologetically. "I didn't have time to get you a present. But I'll clean your room for you!"  
"That's okay, Jordan. If you really want to, you can clean my room." But Jordan wasn't the only one who forgot something. I also forgot what was in my room hidden under my bed. It was a blue cube with a strange, alien glow. 


	3. What the heck is going on!

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Animorphs, Rachel, Marco, Ax, Tobias, Cassie, or Jake or any of the Chee. I do not own ANY of this except the actual story (so it's not plagiarism).  


::Thought::

Thought-speak

"Speech"

*Emphasis*

"Melissa's here. I'm going to the dance now! Bye!" I shouted. See, there was a school dance and Jordan was going to clean my room while I was gone.

'`'`'`'`Jordan`'`'`'`' 

Hi. My name is Jordan. Just Jordan. If you talked to me last month, I would be able to tell you my last name. But you obviously didn't talk to me last month, or I wouldn't be telling you my name, now would I? Anyways… When I heard Rachel leave, I signed off of my AOL screen name. The screen said "Are you sure you want to sign off the following screen name: lil LDS chiklet" and I clicked "Yes." 

"Bye, Rach! Have fun at the dance!" I shouted. 

"Don't embarrass Jake," I heard my mother say. 

"Don't put a kissy on any boooooooys!!" Sara yelled. 

Heaving myself up the stairs, I thought ::They say to count your many blessings. Blessings... blessings... what blessings are in this? I have to clean *her* room *and* mine and Sara's! Jeez…:: But I shook the thought off. ::This is a gift, remember?:: Arriving to the room of the birthday girl, I opened the door, and immediately regretted it. There were clothes on the floor in her closet, pencils all over her desk, her bed was unmade, and who knows how much crap under the bed. ::Oh yeah. This'll be a load of fun. I'll start from the top and work my way down, I guess.:: 

~~~~1 very long hour later~~~~ 

With everything from the bed up dusted, scrubbed, thrown in the laundry chute, and vacuumed, I had one task left… cleaning under the bed. Trying to stall, I went downstairs for a snack. When I came back up, I heaved a great sigh, and started. Mission: Impossible. 

~~~~90 disgustingly long minutes later~~~~

"Awesome! Just one more section of under-the-bed cleaning," I said aloud. 

See, my strategy was to reach under the bed and scoop out an armload, then put it away. Reaching under, I hit something hard. 

This, my friend, is where the adventure begins. 

I pulled out the hard object and saw that it was a cubical things wrapped in an old rag. Unwrapping it, I was astonished at the beautiful blue box. Why was Rachel hiding it? What was it? How did it get there? Who did she get it from? *Where* did she get it from? So many questions! In an attempt to touch it, I dropped it from the rag. ::I wonder what will happen if I touch it…?:: So I did. And I know that you are saying "Stupid! That was a stupid move." Yeah, I know. Moving on… Zzzzzzztt!!! It shocked me! Literally. "Ouch!" I exclaimed. "That hurt! It's weird. But I better put it back. Maybe Rachel had it there for a reason." 

"AAAAAHH!!!!!!! NOOOO!!!!!!!! BOWZER!!!!!!!!!" somebody screamed from outside. 

I dropped the blue box and bolted outside. Our neighbor's dog had been hit by a car. Since the same thing happened to our dog, I new how to handle it. "It's okay! Just back off. I can handle this," I said, sounding like an idiot. Examining the dog, I concentrated very hard on him so that I could find any wounds, or see if he was paralyzed. When he went limp, I thought he was gone for sure, but then he came back to normal. "He's alright. He's okay, unhurt. But he's really freaked out, so you might want to keep him inside," I told the scared neighbors, and then I left. When I got home, I forgot what I had been doing, and went to my room. Thinking hard about the dog that had almost been killed, I started getting itchy. ::Dang,:: I thought. ::I guess it's the tears that is making my nose look big… and white… and… *furry*? What's going on?!:: I tried to get off my bed to look in the mirror, but something didn't work. My legs. When I looked down, I saw my legs bent the wrong way. When I finally got around to my mirror, I was a Great Pyrenees named Bowzer. I tried to scream, but… AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WHY CAN'T I HEAR MYSELF?!?!?!?! WHAT HAPPENED?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?! RACHEL!!!!!!!!! Lucky for me, Rachel had just gotten home from her dance and heard me…

`'`'`'Rachel'`'`'` 

My face went pale. That voice was familiar, but I heard it from my head. ::Oh no. What's going on.:: Then I gasped. ::Jordan!:: 


	4. Squirrels & Roaches

Disclaimer: If you didn't read the disclaimer in the first three chapters, why the heck did you decide to read it now?

"Speech"

*Emphasis*

Thought-speak

::Thought::

"JORDAN! JORDAN, WHERE ARE YOU?!" I screamed. Luckily, my mom had been pulling out of the driveway when I got home, so she wasn't there while I was shouting. Also, Sara was at a friend's house, and Jordan was old enough to stay home alone. It was just us two.

Rach? Rachel, I'm in my room. Hurry, Rachel! 

Bursting into her room, I saw a huge white dog whimpering something horrible. ::Oh no… Jordan found the box… she has the power to morph… she *could* join the Animorphs… no. Absolutely not. It's bad enough with me. I refuse to put my own sister's life in danger. Okay… focus. Get Jordan to demorph.::

"Okay. Jordan? I need you to think about what you look like as a human. Focus on your hair, face, hands, feet, everything. All right? Just do that for now, and I'll explain everything once you are through. Do it, now," I said in my calmest talking-to-a-psycho-dude voice. 

With many nasty crunches, swishes, and grinding noises, my sister was back to normal, with the exception of her shredded clothes.

"Oh, Rachel! What just happened? Wait… don't… don't answer that quite yet," Jordan said, and then ran quickly out of her room and into the bathroom. Her lunch had a date with the toilet. 

When she was out we embraced for a long time. 

"Rachel, what the freak happened to me?" Jordan asked, puzzled.

"Jordan, come in my room. I have to show you something," I replied.

We walked into my room, and my sister sat down on my bed.

"You aren't alone. Me and four of my friends can do that. It's called morphing. Just watch and don't scream, or throw up, please."

With that, I changed into my morphing outfit and started morphing into the closest thing to a human that I had… a chimp! My blonde hair was sucked up like spaghetti into a hungry mouth. My two big toes migrated to the sides of the arches on my feet, which narrowed. I grew short brown hair all over except my chest and belly. 

See? You're not alone, I said, and then demorphed.

~~30 minutes later~~

I had explained to Jordan everything about the Yeerks, Andalites, the morphing technology, and last, but not least, the Animorphs. Also, about Tom, my cousin, Jake's brother. He was a controller, which was fairly disappointing. 

"Oh my gosh… well, I guess that explains all the times that I've heard you talking to yourself- well, Tobias- at night," she mentioned.

"Yeah, about that…" I joked.

"Well, I guess this means you want me to be in the Animorphs?" Jordan asked, half-hopefully.

"No!" I replied quickly. "Absolutely not! I mean, you would be helpful, but there is not a chance in the world that I'm going to make you, press you, or even suggest to you to join the Animorphs. In fact, I'd feel more comfortable if you didn't. Actually… you like those 'Spy Kid' movies, right?"

"Um… no, not really. But go on."

"Okay. Have I explained The Sharing yet?"

"No. Hey, isn't that the club that Tom is in?" Jordan asked inquiringly.

"Yes," I replied. "It is actually a secret organization by the Yeerks to get more hosts. That's how Tom became one. Well, you know how Aunt Tricia and them just found a squirrel and they named Killer? Well, maybe you could morph a squirrel, and spy on The Sharing! Or a sparrow and fly around. Or maybe both…"

~Later at a meeting~

When I walked into the meeting, Jordan was following behind me. As soon as Ax saw my sister, there was a blade at her throat.

"Rachel! Rachel, help!" she cried.

"Whoa! Ax, knock it off, dude. She's my sister," I said, and pulled Jordan away. "She knows all about the Animorphs. I'll explain later."

"Is it 'Bring a Friend day?" Marco asked jokingly. "If so, I should have brought the cockroach I found in my cereal box this morning."

"Ew!" explained Jordan.

"You sure you didn't find a mirror?" I accused.

Marco just rolled his eyes.

"Um, hi Jordan…" Jake said. "What are you doing here?" 

"I found out about everything. But it's okay. What am I gonna do? Shove a slug in my ear for the heck of it?" Jordan retorted.

Cassie had been completely silent.

"Rachel," she said. "I need to speak to you."

"Yeah, okay."

Cassie took me over to the stalls.

"Even if it isn't your fault about how she found out, it's dangerous, isn't it? She's a little small and- and mean as it may sound- weak. Too weak, in fact, to fend off Hork-Bijar. This isn't good, Rach. Not good at all. She could endanger herself, us, the planet, the entire universe."

"Not if she doesn't fight." I said and walked back to the rest.

When I got back to the circle thingy, I told Jake that I needed the floor for a while. Ax was still eying Jordan suspiciously. 

"As you can see," I began. "We have a new member. So obviously, she knows about us. How? I'll tell…" and tell, I did. I told them about how she cleaned my room, how she acquired a Great Pyrenees. Everything, including my pland for how she can help…


	5. Squirt and Volleyball

Disclaimer: You ought to have read it by now, people!! Also, I don't own "Grisabella Kitty." She is from the Broadway show "Cats."

::Thought::

Thought-speech

"Speech"

*Emphasis*

~At Jake's House~

Jake had taken me over to his house so that we could "study." I also took Jordan, and said that my mom was gone and Jordan didn't want to stay home alone. That night just so happened to be the night that The Sharing had their volleyball tournament. Winner takes home $15 and -oh joy- a membership card. Meaning infestation. Yeah, we sorta made a bargain to be good, but not too good. Anyways…

"Hey, Tom," Jake said. "Isn't there a meeting tonight for The Sharing?" 

"Yeah!" he replied, visibly excited. "Are you going to come?"  
"Well, what are you guys doing?"

"A volleyball tournament. You get to take home $15 and membership. Try to win, midget."

::Uh-huh.:: I thought. ::You also forgot to mention that you get a free evil extraterrestrial parasitic slug in your very own head! Yeah, Tom. We'll win, alright!::

"Hi, Tom!" piped up Jordan.

"Hey there, squirt! What are you doing here?" he replied, clearly ecstatic that he was recruiting 3 people at once.

"I'm with her," she said, pointing at me. 

"Ah," replied Tom and turned to go upstairs to his room. "Come to The Sharing tonight, okay?"

"Alright," said Jake.

"Will do," I said.

"Okay," said Jordan.

~Later at Cassie's barn~

"Is everybody ready to go to The Sharing?" Jake asked. 

We were going to come at different times, from different places, except for me and Jordan. We came last. She was supposed to stick with me since most 14 year olds can't drive.

"Yes." (Cassie)

"Yeah." (Me)

"Sure, why not?" (Jordan)

I am ready, Prince Jake. (The only one who calls Jake "Prince")

"Nope," said Marco.

We all turned to look at him. He was fixing his hair.

"Okay, *now* I'm ready," he said.

Jake rolled his eyes and said "Good grief. Can we go now, Brad Pitt?"

"Brad Pitt?! Where?" I asked jokingly.

"Right here, Grisabella Kitty," Marco said, grinning from ear to ear.

Yeah. Right. Anyways, we left in our order. First Ax in human form (in case anything went wrong, he could demorph and warn us in thought speech once we got there.), then Jake, then Marco. Cassie stayed back for a little while to talk to me. 

"Rachel, I don't much like this plan but the only reason I'm doing this is because I can trust on this kind of thing. You love your sister to death, but I don't want that to become literal. Be careful, okay?" and then she left.

"C'mon, squirt," I said to Jordan.

"What is it with you and Tom calling me that? I hate it!" she replied angrily.

"All the better," I said in an old woman's voice. "To tease the crap out of you, my dear!"

~Later at The Sharing~

Wow. This is cool! This is *so* cool! It's like somebody turned the world sideways.

"Jordan," I said casually, acting like I was talking to Cassie. "If you don't quit running up and down that same tree, their going to suspect something."

Jordan had acquired a squirrel morph and was having *way* too much fun. 

"Seriously, Jordi," Cassie added. "Focus."

Did you just call me Jordi? *Jordi*? What kind of name is *that*? I like it! Jordan -or Jordi- said.

"I repeat: focus!" Cassie hissed.

Hey look! It's Vanessa! said Jordi. She's cool.

Vanessa was a girl at my school who I did a science project with one time, so she had to come over to my house, and Jordan and Sara were absolutely enchanted with her. I however, despised her. Can you say "stuck up?"

"Oh joy," I said sarcastically. "Wait… oh my gosh! Oh no! No no no no no!"

"What?" Cassie asked worriedly. "What is it, Rachel?"

"Vanessa won the All-State Championship last year-- in volleyball! As much as I can't stand her, I would hate to have one more pathetic sluggish beast have a host, especially if I could have stopped it."

Just then Jake ran up to us.

"You guys-- girls ready?"

"Jake," Cassie started. "We have a problem--"

"And I have a curfew. Let's go."

Jordan scurried up the tree one last time and jumped to the next… and the next… and the next. Cassie and I ran over to the volleyball net with Jake, and I explained about Vanessa on the way. Then Marco joined.

"We have got to win," said Marco. "Then just refuse the memberships."

"Why are you so eager to save Vanessa?" I asked him curiously.

"She's hot," he replied simply and winked.

Jake just rolled his eyes.

"You know," said Cassie. "This may be the most fun mission we've ever had!"

"Except for Jordan, who is doing all the dirty and dangerous work while we have a blast hitting a ball from one side of a net to the other," I pointed out. Even though this was my idea, I was determined to make sure that while Jordan did her job, the rest of us did *not* have any fun whatsoever. It worked for the first 5 minutes. Then we got just a *little* bit too happy…


	6. The Sharing

Disclaimer: Try going back 5 chapters.

::Thought::

"Speech"

Thought speech

*Emphasis*

"…And the score is 5-0, Vanessa's team is in the lead!" the commentator was saying. "Our players deserve a break, so we'll come back in about 15 minutes. I'm Danny Rogers, come back soon!"

We were losing, bad. And Danny Rogers wasn't helping any, since he kept acting like an anchorman. There was practically no hope whatsoever for us, or Vanessa, for that matter. What's worse is that their team was a lot bigger. Okay, so it was 1 more person. But it was our school quarterback, all-state volleyball champion (Vanessa), school-wide famous basketball star, head cheerleader (those girls are *buff*!), another cheerleader, and a guy who had been held back twice. He was *huge*! We just had Jake, Marco, Cassie, Ax, and me. Tobias said he would just ruin everything. Well, at least that was what it was like for the first half…

"You guys look down in the dumps," said a voice behind us. "In spirit and points."

"Erek," I said. "How good are you in volleyball?"

He rolled his eyes.

"That's cold, Rachel. That's just plain harsh. I was one of the most famous volley ball players of all time."

"Really? Who?" asked Cassie curiously.

"I forget. I had so many lives, I can't keep track of them all." replied Erek, blushing.

"I'll be right back," Jake said, and hurried off to talk to the commentator.

~5 minutes later~

"Okay," Jake informed. "Denny-- or Danny. Whatever. -- Said we can have Erek on the team since they have one more player than we do."

We all breathed a sigh of relief at the same time.

~10 minutes later (by the way, Jordan is still spying on the meeting)~

"…Ready… set… serve!" said Danny. 

THUMP… THUMP… THUMP…

This was going good! Finally…

THUMP… THUMP… piff!

"And that's a score for Jake's team!" announced Danny.

Piff…piff…piff…piff…piff… It was score after score after score. (Sorry. I know I'm getting monotonous.) We were scoring until we eventually won. But guess who got the $15.

"I have no use for human money," Ax insisted.

I was *so* tempted to mention Cinnabon, but then I wouldn't even have a chance at my favorite type of paper.

"I have an idea, Ax," Cassie said. "Why don't you divide it amongst us humans?"

But there are only 4 of you, the newly demorphed Andalite pointed out.  
She had to think about that.  
"I know! Even though she's not with us, Jordan can have $3 since she's doing all the dirty work," I said.  
Cassie was happy about it, but everybody Jake and Marco mumbled an "I guess so." and a "Whatever." ::It's nice to know how much you love my sister,:: I thought.

"Hey Ax, ask Jordan how everything is going, okay?" I said.  
Moments later, he said,  
"She has received information. There is a new Yeerk pool at the mall. The entrance is at Belk's and the exit is a completely different place; the doorway by the dumpster outside of the bicycle shop," he reported. Suddenly…  
Rachel! They have Katy's, my best friend, mom! We have to do something about it! Jordi screeched.   
Thinking fast, I had an idea. 

"Guys, just play along. Ax, morph back to human," I ordered then started running around the beach asking people if they had seen my sister. Eventually, I even asked Vanessa.

"Vanessa, I need your help!" I said.

"No," she replied smugly. "You don't. You need the hospital's help."

"That's not funny!" I said angrily. "I can't find my sister, Jordan. She's gone! I've been looking for her ever since the tournament. Have you seen her?"

That got her attention. She thought Jordan was the cutest thing in the world.

"No, I haven't seen her, but I'll help you look," she replied worriedly.

So Vanessa and I looked and asked people where Jordan was, got them looking, and soon had the entire beach looking.

Soon there were people shouting "Jordan! Jordan!" everywhere and eventually, my plan worked. There was so much disruption, that the "members" had to come out f their meeting, along with Jordan's best friend's mom.

Tseeeeeeeeeeeer!

A red-tailed hawk came out of nowhere and raked his talons across the face of the human-controller that was holding Katy's mother.

"Aargh!!" he screamed and put his hands up to his now bloody-fied face.

Run! Tobias said to Katy's mother.  
She stared at him.  
"Wha-?"  
Just run! he shouted at her.  
Tseeeeeew! Tseeeeeew! The controllers started shooting at Tobias with the Dracon beams.  
Tobias started flying away, and I started running away along the woods. While I was running, I saw a cute little squirrel near all the commotion.   
It's me, Rachel. Pick me up. I can't run as fast as you! Jordan said, so I did.  
When we got near where we last saw the others, I told Jordan to tell the others where we were and to morph birds and to go to Cassie's barn.  
"But Rachel," Jordan whispered after she demorphed. "I don't have a bird of prey morph."  
"Not a bird of prey, but you do have a bird morph. Remember? Your sparrow," I replied, and then started to morph bald eagle.  
~20 minutes later in Cassie's barn~  
"Well, that was fun," said Marco. And he was actually serious.  
"Hey, me and Jordan have to get home. Mom doesn't know we went to The Sharing and she'll be back soon," I told everybody. "Later!"  
"Bye!" said Jordan.  
"Hey Jordan," Cassie cried. "Good job."

I just grinned at her, morphed, and flew home with my sister. 


End file.
